The present disclosure relates broadly to the field of power generation used to produce electricity. More particularly, this disclosure relates to power plants and systems which combine solar power and nuclear power to increase efficiency compared to a nuclear plant alone. The solar-nuclear hybrid plants can help meet the world's need for a sustainable, carbon-free (i.e., green) source of energy.
Both solar energy and nuclear energy are viable carbon-free sources of power. They both offer the means to produce electricity with minimal carbon footprint and with minimal/no fuel cost. However, solar activity is variable, which means solar energy production is variable. Nuclear power is not variable, but has a relatively low efficiency due to inherent limitations in systems design.
It would be desirable to reduce the variability of energy output from a solar power plant. It would also be desirable to produce higher pressure and/or temperature steam than can be produced by a nuclear power plant, so that more energy can be extracted per unit mass.